Consumers Urged To Shop Small, Support Small Business This Holiday Season

It’s no secret that the COVID-19 Pandemic has delivered a blunt impact on all pockets of the economy, from live entertainment, to hotels, restaurants stores and more. However, with some of the hardest impacts being felt by small businesses, consumers are being urged more than ever this holiday season to shop small.

The urging comes just ahead of what is traditionally the biggest shopping weekend of the year, consisting of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Small Business Saturday has traditionally been the biggest push to get consumers to support local businesses in their communities, but after many were shuttered during the Pandemic, and continue to struggle, the push to support them beyond the one day of business has begun to grow.

According to the American Express Shop Small Impact Study, 75% of small business owners are counting on normal holiday spending to help ensure they can stay in business in 2021, while an additional 46% said they would need higher than average spending 92% of small owners also changed the way they offered their services to consumers as well, with a pivot towards online sales and delivery and pick-up options that allow consumers who want to avoid the stores a chance to still make purchases.

In several cities, the initiative to shop small has led to events pushing consumers to do so. One such event is Seattle’s “Shop Your Block” campaign, which connects consumers and local retailers through a map where people can search for businesses near them or across the city through various other search criteria. The map will also bring up business hours and reveal the different services offered.

While a big focus is being put on small businesses, they aren’t the only ones seeking to have consumers coming into stores for the holiday shopping season. In fact, while they are competitors, like big-box retailers, they are also worried about if they are deemed non-essential—which could put them at risk of being shut down again, with COVID-19 numbers on the rise once again.

In fact, concerns about non-essential businesses being shut down again have led to Macy’s and others who are members of the National Retail Federation lobbying to stay open throughout the holiday shopping season as long as they can safely encourage social distancing inside stores, over fears that another shutdown during such a critical quarter could impact their financial future as well.